Roller-skate



(No Model.)

S. D. CASTLE.

ROLLER SKATE. l No. 320,626. Patented June 23.1885.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIH lUNrTED STATES PATENT. @Erica SAMUEL D. CASTLE, CF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

ROLLER- S KATE.

.SPECIFICATION 'forming part of Letters Patent No. 320,626, dated June 23, 1885.

Application filed February 19, 18H5. (No model.)

To @ZZ 1071.071?, it may concern:

Beit known that I, SAMUEL D. CASTLE, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Skates; and I do hereby declare the following` to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to improve the construction and arrangement ofthe trucks ot' roller-skates-to produce, in brief, a truck which will yield slightly in use to the weight of the skater, thereby doing away with the solid unyielding blow with which the rollers strike the door in skates now in use, and consequcntl y materially lessening the noise made in skating, and also to so construct, arrange, and connect the trucks that they will turn readily upon imaginary axes, either with or without inclination of the foot-plate. By so doing I am enabled to make the skate so sensitive that it will respond to the slightest movement of the body of the skater, thus en abling sharp turns to be made, and in much less space than has been hereto required. At the same time each portion'of the skate is made strong, and the device, as a whole, is durable and practically impossible to get out of repair.

Vith the above stated ends in view I have devised the novel constructiom which I will now describe, referring by letters te the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a skate with the near side wheels removed; Fig. 2, a side elevation, on an enlarged scale, of one of the trucks, one of thev springs being removed and the other partially broken away to show the stud; Fig. 3, a plan view of the truck-casting detached; Fig. 4., a plan view of the bracket detached; Fig. 5, a detail view of the spring which connects the truck-castings5 and Fig. 6, an end View of a truck, illustrating a modi fication in the attachment of the arm of the casting to the bracket. Y

Similar letters indicate the same parts in all the figures.

A indicates the foot-plate, and B the clamps, of ordinary construction.

the casting and the bracket.

C is a bracket, secured to the foot-plate byV screws or bolts passing through holes D.

E is a boss or projection on the under side of arm F of the bracket, and Gis another boss or projection at the opposite end of the bracket, the functions of both of which will presently be explained.

H is a lug or teat projecting downward from the bracket under or nearly under boss Cr.

I is a stud or pivot projecting downward from the opposite end of the bracket. The functions of both teat and stud will presently be explained.

K is the casting which carries the rollers. It is provided with a bearing, L, through which the axle passes, and at theends of which the wheels are placed.

M is an upwardly and outwardly projecting arm at one end of this casting, and N is an arm at its opposite end, which projects upward, then inward, and is provided with a perforated lug or eye, O, at its upper end, which, when the parts are assembled rests over boss G- on the bracket. 4

P is a lug or teat upon the casting, which, when assembled, is directly underlug H upon the bracket.

Qis a hole through the casting upon the opposite side of the bearing, which tapers from the top downward and inward. Stud I upon the bracket passes through this hole, which is given suiiicient taper, as indicated in Figs 2 and 3, to allow free movement of the stud in any direction.

R represents springs, which I place between I have shown, and preferably use, blocks of rubber for this purpose, although it will be apparent that any other ordinary style of spring may be used if preferred. One of these springs rests between lugs or teats H and P, and is by them held in its proper position. 'The other spring is held in position by stud I, which passes through it, and is held below the casting by a pin, S, passing through it, or in any suitable manner. Eye O upon arm N is loosely heldin p osition by a pin, T, which passes through the eye and into a recess in the boss G, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

The hole in the eye is countersunk, or made tapering from the bottom upward and outward, as shown, in order to permit universal ICO movement of the casting relatively to the 3 bracket. The pin is held :from =escaping by i the foot-plate; or, if preferred, the pin may be l tapped into the boss. By making the hole though the eye and hole Q both tapering out ward and. upward from the bottom, the ut most freedom of motion is allowed to the casting, except as such motion maybe controlled by springs R and V. I

In the modification illustrated in Fig. 6, boss G is shown as facing outward instead of upward, and arm N is provided at its upper end with a slot, O', through which a screw, O2, passes, and then engages boss; G, as in the other form. The slot permits Yfree vertical movement of the casting, and in practice is countersunk (not shown) upon the inner side, thus permitting the casting to turn in a lateral as well as a vertical plane in addition to its vertical movement. In short, the casting in both forms has universal movement relatively to the bracket. The trucks are all made alike, the brackets heilig attached to the footplnte with the arms F toward each other.

U is a rod whose opposite ends are rigidly secured in the bosses E, thus firmly connecting the two bosses together and giving sol idity and strength to the body of the skate.

The castings K are connected;together by means of a corrugated spring, V, whose opposite ends are attached to the ends of arms K, as clearly shown in Fig. l. This spring accomplishes, in a much more perfect manner, the functions heretofore accomplished by the rubber blocks placed between the trucks and the foot-plate. The rubber :blocks heretofore used have only permitted the trucks to cramp or incline toward each other when the foot-plate was inclined; but my improved construction enables me to oramp or incline the trucks toward each other without inclination of the foot-plate.

I have shown the castings K K as connected by a corrugated spring, (see Figs. l and 5,) as in practice I have found this style of spring much superior to any other. Other ordinary styles, however, as, for example, a i'lat or coil spring used in this connection are equally within the scope of my invention.

It should be understood that springs Rperform a double function, in that they not only take up the force of .the blow when the rollers strike the surface,but also assist spring V in holding'castings K to their normal position.

The result of combining springs R and V in skate-trucks is to wholly do away with the unpleasant jar of the rigid skates now in use, and also to produce a skate more sensitive to the movements of the skater than it is possible for them to be when made upon t-he old plan.

I do not of course desire to limit myself to the exact construction shown, as it is obvious that the details may be considerably varied without departing in the least from the spirit of my invention.

I claim--l 1. The combination of brackets secured to the foot-plate, castings carrying the rollers which are loosely secured to the brackets. springs interposed between the castings and the brackets, and a spring connecting the castings together.

2. A skate-truck consisting of a bracket adapted to be secured to the foot-plate and having boss G, stud I, and lng H, and a casting having an arm with an eye which is loosely pivoted to boss G, a lug, P, corresponding with lug I, and a tapered hole through which the stud passes, and springs 'R interposed between the casting and the bracket.

3. The brackets secured to the foot-plate and having bosses E and rod U, connecting said brackets together, in combination with castings carrying the rollers which are loosely secured to the brackets and are provided with arms M, sl'irings R, interposed between the castings and brackets, and a spring, V, wh ose opposite ends are secured to arms M.

4. The brackets secured to the footfplate and having bosses G and downwardly-projecting studs I, in combination with castings which carry the rollers and are provided with arms N, loosely pivoted to bosses G, arms M, connected by spring V, and tapering holes through which the studs pass, and springs interposed between the castings and the brackets.

5. In a Skate, brackets C, having studs I and lugsH, in combination with castings K, having holes Q, and lugs P, and springs consisting ofblocks of rubber which are inter posed between the castings and brackets, one being held in place by lugs H and P and the other by stud I, which passes through it.

6. In a skate, brackets C, having bosses G and studs I, in combination with castings having arms loosely pivoted to bosses G, holes tapering downward and inward through which the studs pass, andarms M, which are connected together by a corrugated spring, V.

7. In a skate, trucks consisting of brackets secured to the foot-plate, castings pivotally connected to the brackets and connected together by a corrugated spring, and rubber blocks interposed between the brackets and castings.

8. The brackets secured to the foot-plate and connected together by rod U, in combination with castings K, pivoted to the brackets and connected together by a spring, V.

9. In a skate, the brackets having lugs G and studs I, and castings K, having arms N with eyes O, having tapered holes, and tapered holes through which the studs pass,and pins S and I, which hold the parts in place.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SAMUEL D. CASTLE.

NVitnesses:

A. M. Woos'rnn, WM. A. JoNns. 

